New team store unveiled tonight, Nationals minor leaguer allows no hits for seven frames

New team store unveiled tonight, Nationals minor leaguer allows no hits for seven frames
The Nationals will unveil their brand new team store tonight prior to their series opener against the Yankees. The new store is nearly double the size of the previous store and is located behind right-center field under the Lot C garage. You can also access the store from the street during non-game days. The first 25,000 fans to enter the ballpark through all tonight will receive a special 10-year anniversary tote bag presented by MLB Network. The Nationals also open up the Virginia Country...
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Lopez provides another solid start, plus Harper home run notes

Lopez provides another solid start, plus Harper home run notes
Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez pitched six innings with a no-decision in high Single-A Potomac's 3-2 loss at Wilmington. Lopez allowed only one run on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He is still 2-0 and his ERA is 0.53. Lopez threw 85 pitches, 48 for strikes, while facing 24 batters. He induced seven groundout, three flyouts and had one hit by pitch. Lopez was reportedly hitting 96-97 mph on his fastball and touching 98 mph. He left with a 2-1 lead. Twitter reaction to his...
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Nationals' quick starts have fueled strong road trip (plus minors notes)

Nationals' quick starts have fueled strong road trip (plus minors notes)
Sunday morning feels good to the Nationals, who have a chance to make it a very good road trip with a win today. The Nationals have taken two out of three in Arizona and now in San Diego, thanks to Saturday's 4-1 Max Scherzer special. Scherzer struck out 11 to get above .500. The Nationals have now climbed to within a half-game of the National League East-leading Mets, who led the division by eight games in late April. A victory today would also put the Nationals a season-high five games above...
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Cole's huge bounceback performance helps rest bullpen (plus minors notes)

Cole's huge bounceback performance helps rest bullpen (plus minors notes)
Friday night was a perfect second outing for rookie right-hander A.J. Cole. After starting in his first major league game, Cole came in to pitch three string innings in the Nationals' 10-0 shutout over the Padres. Cole threw 37 pitches and 23 for strikes. He allowed only one hit and recorded nine outs, no runs, a strikeout and no walks. He recorded his first professional save. On April 28, Cole lasted only two innings and allowed nine hits and nine runs, but only four of those runs were...
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Giolito makes impressive second start, fans career high 11 in 1-0 loss

Giolito makes impressive second start, fans career high 11 in 1-0 loss
Right-hander Lucas Giolito had a superb second start for high Single-A Potomac at Wilmington on Thursday night. The Nationals' top prospect Giolito (0-2) went six innings and allowed one run on five hits, striking out a career-high 11 batters in a 1-0 loss to the Blue Rocks. He faced 23 batters, and induced five groundouts and one flyout. Wilmington's Frank Schwindel had a triple and RBI single against Giolito that plated the game's lone tally in the sixth. The P-Nats' offense could not...
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Morning coffee: On Game 7 guarantees, the backups shining and minors notes

Morning coffee: On Game 7 guarantees, the backups shining and minors notes
I kind of feel for Alex Ovechkin this morning. He made a guarantee statement after the Capitals lost a heartbreaking Game 6 to the New York Rangers in the NHL Playoffs. After such a loss, Ovechkin was bold enough to predict the Capitals would go to New York Wednesday night and topple the first-seed Rangers in Game 7. They almost did it, forcing the Rangers into overtime before falling 2-1. He did everything he could to will the win, scoring the only goal of the game for the Capitals in giving...
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Morning coffee: Lopez shines again, Janssen's solid rehab outing and more notes

Morning coffee: Lopez shines again, Janssen's solid rehab outing and more notes
Nationals right-hander reliever Casey Janssen (shoulder inflammation) continued his rehab assignment up a level at Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday night. Janssen pitched a scoreless eighth as the Senators downed Reading, 4-1. Right-hander starter Joe Ross went seven innings to lift Harrisburg to their first series win of the season. Harrisburg (13-18) can earn a series sweep with a morning victory today. Paul Demny did not give up a run in the ninth to record his first save of the...
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Morning coffee: major and minor league Nats notes

Morning coffee: major and minor league Nats notes
It has been a very good start to May for high Single-A Potomac third baseman Drew Ward. He has gone 8-for-29 (.276) with two homers and five RBIs. He has walked seven times and struck out only seven times. The 20-year-old from Leedey, Okla., has hit .278 overall with a .800 OPS, totaling 27 hits including eight doubles. Second baseman Christopher Bostick had a six-game hit streak snapped last night. But he had a game-winning hit last week in a 4-3 win over Frederick and has eight stolen bases...
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Janssen update, plus notes on Giolito, Solis, Barrett, Strasburg, Treinen and bullpen

Janssen update, plus notes on Giolito, Solis, Barrett, Strasburg, Treinen and bullpen
Nationals right-hander Casey Janssen, who is on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, got knocked around Sunday in his second rehab assignment with the high Single-A Potomac Nationals. Arriving in the seventh, Janssen allowed a home run, double and triple, but finished the inning. Of course, you don't want to get knocked around in a rehab outing, but more importantly for Janssen is how the shoulder feels the day after. If he feels good Monday, his next outing would likely be Tuesday....
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Zimmermann fought fastball command, but still found way to eat up innings in comeback win

Zimmermann fought fastball command, but still found way to eat up innings in comeback win
The Nationals found a way in the end to come back and beat the Braves 5-4 on Sunday and sweep their three-game series. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was staked to an early 3-0 lead. Normally, he is able to take full advantage of such a cushion. But the Braves chipped away quickly, scoring two in the second inning and one in the third to tie the game at 3-3. Atlanta scored one more in the seventh and led 4-3. Zimmermann knew it wasn't his most even outing with control issues - he had only two...
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Fister cites work with Lobaton, Harper's play as reasons why are Nats finally getting above .500

Fister cites work with Lobaton, Harper's play as reasons why are Nats finally getting above .500
It might be a bit lost in all the hoopla of another walk-off home run from the sensational Bryce Harper, but right-hander Doug Fister played his part in the Nationals' 8-6 win over the Braves on Saturday. Fister provided 6 2/3 innings to the Nationals' cause, allowing three runs on six hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. He got into a jam in the seventh after recording two quick outs, but the Braves managed only one run off of his pitching in the first six frames. Fister said his...
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Strasburg reveals discomfort was in ankle not shoulder, says bullpen "went good"

Strasburg reveals discomfort was in ankle not shoulder, says bullpen "went good"
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg had a good bullpen session today, four days removed from his May 5 loss to the Marlins in which he felt tightness in his shoulder. Strasburg revealed that it was actually his ankle that was bothering him in that start, causing him to change his mechanics to try to protect it. That, in turn, caused the slight pain in his shoulder. "It went good," Strasburg said. "No problems. I actually threw it for the first time without having my ankle taped up, it...
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Giolito allows eight hits and five runs in debut, has "a lot of stuff to work on"

Giolito allows eight hits and five runs in debut, has "a lot of stuff to work on"
Nationals top prospect right-hander Lucas Giolito made his first start for high Single-A Potomac, going 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Frederick. He allowed eight hits, seven of which were singles, and five runs, while striking out five and walking two. Giolito faced 23 batters and got seven groundouts and one flyout with one wild pitch before 5,041 at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. Frederick won the game, 8-7. After the game, he spoke to reporters about finally getting a chance to...
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Gonzalez finally got fastball to click and then offense cranked it up for 9-2 win

Gonzalez finally got fastball to click and then offense cranked it up for 9-2 win
Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez has had a lot of success with the team since his arrival in 2012. Amazingly, though, he had never defeated the Braves at Nats Park until Friday night. Gonzalez (3-2) went seven strong innings in a 9-2 shellacking of Atlanta. The left-hander gave up only two earned runs on five hits with one walk. He struck out eight hitters. Gonzalez has now struck out 25 batters in his last three starts. The Braves managed a couple of runs in the first three innings against...
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Janssen's rehab outing went so well, he feels like he "could pitch today"

Janssen's rehab outing went so well, he feels like he "could pitch today"
Nationals right-hander Casey Janssen (right shoulder inflammation) surprised even himself with how good he felt today following his first rehab outing Thursday in Woodbridge, Va., for high Single-A Potomac. "Definitely a nice step, probably a bigger step than I originally thought it was going to be," Janssen said following one scoreless inning to begin Game 2 versus Wilmington. He faced three batters, threw nine pitches and struck out one. Janssen did not allow a base runner. He said he...
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Lopez delivers win in first high Single-A start for Potomac; Janssen begins rehab

Lopez delivers win in first high Single-A start for Potomac; Janssen begins rehab
The Nationals' No. 3 prospect right-hander Reynaldo Lopez provided a solid debut with high Single-A Potomac on Thursday. Lopez threw five scoreless innings in a 2-1 Potomac victory in Game 1 over the Wilmington Blue Rocks at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. In Game 2, right-hander Casey Janssen tossed one scoreless inning to begin his rehab from shoulder tendinitis. Lopez fired 54 pitches, 37 for strikes, and hit 98 mph velocity with his fastball according to P-Nats media relations. He...
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Roark's versatility paying big dividends for on-call bullpen

Roark's versatility paying big dividends for on-call bullpen
Right-hander Tanner Roark has done it all out of the bullpen for the Nationals so far this season. After serving as a starting pitcher in 36 of the first 45 games of his career with the Nats, it is impressive that he hasn't missed a beat as a reliever. He has made 10 appearances so far this season, finishing three games and recording his first major league save. His shortest outing was 1/3 inning, and his longest was 3 2/3 innings. His ERA is 3.00. Roark has also made three appearances in a...
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Scherzer pitches around two mistakes to notch 7-5 win over Marlins

Scherzer pitches around two mistakes to notch 7-5 win over Marlins
Coming into Wednesday afternoon's game, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer had allowed two or fewer earned runs in all three of his losses this season. So, of course, on the day he gave up five runs, Bryce Harper delivered three home runs as the offense erupted to earn him a 7-5 win. The Nationals have now won three series in a row. Since starting the season 7-13, they have won seven of their last nine games. Scherzer had allowed five total earned runs in his first five starts, going 1-3. On...
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Harper's walk total could be turned into more stolen bases

Harper's walk total could be turned into more stolen bases
Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper continues to show patience at the plate. He walked twice in the series opener against the Marlins, putting his total for the young season at 26 free passes in 28 games, which is tops in the majors. Nationals manager Matt Williams has noticed how Harper has waited for his pitches early this season. "The ability to understand the strike zone, his strike zone," Williams said. "And that's a good thing. It's good that he's being patient. We surround him,...
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Werth sitting out second straight game due to "cranky" shoulder

Werth sitting out second straight game due to "cranky" shoulder
Nationals manager Matt Williams decided to allow left fielder Jayson Werth to rest for a second straight game in Wednesday's series finale with the Marlins. Williams said Werth's shoulder is still sore as he recovers from offseason surgery. The day off is "part of the progression" toward 100 percent health, the manager explained. "It's going to be cranky from time to time," Williams said. "You know, surgery five months ago. It's part of the rehab process. You get through stuff like...
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